In a power electronics system the main heat generating components are often power semiconductor devices such as silicon insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) or silicon carbide (SiC) metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs). The thermal design of the power electronics system needs to regulate appropriately the junction temperature of the power semiconductor device to achieve desired longevity and reliability.
There are generally two alternate cooling approaches: (1) air-cooled configurations and (2) liquid-cooled configurations. Because of the high heat-flux generated by power semiconductor devices, air cooling has limited capability for heat extraction. Therefore, liquid cooling is often used in the electronics system (e.g., inverter) for heavy-duty vehicles. The drawback of liquid-cooled configurations include the cost and complexity of an external pump and radiator systems to extract heat from liquid flowing through coolant channels in the electronics system. Thus, there is a need for an electronic assembly with phase-change cooling of the semiconductor device.